Along the southern edge of Arlington, Va., it’s easy to miss the understated rows of brick homes that make up Green Valley.

The industrial neighborhood abuts the bustling dining and commercial center of Shirlington and includes the Washington and Old Dominion trailhead, a favorite waypoint for runners and cyclists. But it wasn’t until the 2022 renovation and renaming of Jennie Dean Park along South Four Mile Run Drive that the region drew meaningful attention to what Green Valley represents: a historically Black neighborhood with deep ties to local Civil Rights history and a number of lifelong residents who preserve its character.

SEATTLE – U.S. News & World Report released its latest Best States rankings for 2024, and while Washington made the top 10, the state actually dropped several spots from last year.

The Best States project ranks states based on eight different factors, including:

• Health care
• Education
• Natural environment
• Opportunity
• Economy
• Crime and corrections
• Infrastructure
• Fiscal stability

So where does Washington stack up? 8th place, according to the rankings scorecard.

The area Washington ranked highest in was infrastructure, sitting #7 out of 50. The Evergreen State is the fourth best in the U.S. for its use of renewable energy and seventh for internet access, however the quality of roads and bridges ranks 26th.

Washington’s lowest ranking on the scorecard was crime and corrections at #39, as the report claims the state is the fifth-worst in terms of public safety.

U.S. News put Washington just after Vermont (7) and one spot ahead of Florida (9). The top U.S. state was Utah, which also took first place in 2023.

However, right behind Utah in the 2023 report was Washington at #2, apparently dropping six spots within a year. This was likely due to the state’s crime and corrections only ranking #19 last year, which has since dropped 20 spots.

In 2024, Washington’s other categories are ranked:

• #13 in Education
• #10 in Health Care
• #11 in Natural Environment
• #14 in Economy
• #14 in Fiscal Stability
• #37 in Opportunity

To view the full rankings, visit the U.S. News website.

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Donald Trump’s Florida trial for allegedly mishandling classified documents and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them has been pushed back indefinitely, U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon ruled Tuesday, increasing the chance that Trump’s New York criminal trial may be the only one to happen before the November election.

The judge had originally set the trial date for late May and heard arguments on March 1 about when the trial should be — with Trump’s lawyers pushing to start after the presidential election, in which he is the presumptive Republican nominee, or no earlier than August.